It’s championship season on the court again, and once again several local Northeast Florida teams are collecting hardware in Volleyball. It’s the usual suspects that are riding high into the playoffs as district winners, while others will be waiting on the RPI rankings to decide their playoff fates. Check out the district champions below.
District 2-5A: Stanton 3 Riverside 0
Stanton defeated Riverside in three straight sets 25-4, 25-13, 25-15, to be crowned Volleyball District 2-5A Champions. Junior Caroline Rinaman has led the team this year with 54 kills and 18 aces. Senior Jadilyn Diaz leads the team on defense with he blocking ability, while Alaina Castengera is an assist machine with 107 assists coming into the district contest. Stanton has a16-9 record with wins over St. Augustine, Sandalwood, and Englewood. In the playoffs, they’re opponents will be much tougher, and they must find a way to get victories over that competition. Something that they struggled to do in the regular season. They currently sit 12th in RPI rankings with a 4.522.
District 4-6A: Ponte Vedra 3 Fletcher 0
The (25-1) Ponte Vedra Sharks defeated the Fletcher Senators(20-8), 3-0 to win the District 4-6A championship. It was business as usual for the Sharks, as Rachel Johnson led the team with 13 kills. Zeta Washington had 3 blocks. Jessica Shattles had 39 assists. Ava Witt and Rachel Johnson both had 14 digs. Ponte Vedra defeated Englewood 3-0, then Fleming Island 3-0 to advance to the championship. Now it’s showtime and this is where the lady’s of Ponte Vedra shine in the playoffs. They are going for their
DISTRICT 3-2A: Harvest Community 3 University Christian 0
Abby Maynor’s 22 kills led Harvest Community to a 3 game sweep 25-18, 26-24, 25-11 of University Christian. Carlie Vining (24 digs), Taylor Marts (8 blocks), Peyton Cooper (35 assists) or the Warriors (17-4), who will open the playoffs at home Tuesday. University Christian, who fell to 12-11, got great effort from Sophia Kardatske who had 8 kills.
District 7-1A: Union County 3 Newberry 2
Union County defeated Newberry 3-2 to be crowned district champions. Jaycee Davis leads the team this year in kills with 308 and serving aces . Emily Wilson’s defense has been superb with her blocking, while Jurney Crim (304 digs) and Maegan Beatty (631 assists) have helped guide their team to a 14-8 record. Union County defeated Hilliard 3-0 to advance to the championship.
District 3-4A: Bishop Kenny 3 Bolles 0
It was a clean sweep for Bishop Kenny tonight as the Crusaders defeated the Bulldogs 25-10, 25-6, and 25-8 to win the district championship. Kenny improves to 18-9 on the season, while Bolles falls to 13-11. Senior Bailey Chin, junior Sarah Seabrooke, senior Alexis Chin and junior Allison Cavanaugh have had great seasons, and are big reasons why the Crusaders are marching on to the playoffs.
District 1-8A: Creekside 3 Bartram Trail 0
A rivalry that keeps it’s intensity and competitiveness across several sports is Creekside versus Bartram. Thursday, that rivalry had a district championship at stake, and Creekside prevailed 3-0. Senior Isabella Collier leads the team in kills and blocks, Viviana Vasquez leads the team in digs, while Tyler Patterson leads in aces. Creekside improved to 15-7 on the season. They defeated Mandarin 3-2 in an epic win for the program as Mandarin has been on a roll this season. They also defeated Westport before that to advance.
DISTRICT 2-4A: Fernandina Beach 3 Yulee 2
Fernandina Beach (11-9) defeated Yulee (17-10) in the district 2-4A championship. It was a grueling five games of action scored 25-20, 20-25, 18-25, 25-23, and 15-11 with the Pirates coming out victorious. Katelynn West has led with 56 kills and 9 serving aces on the season coming into the playoffs. Alexis Wardynski leads in blocks and Grace Castellani leads with 83 digs. Sophia Pittman is tops in the assist category, and is a big factor in Fernandina being district champions
District 3-5A : Ridgeview 3 Middleburg 0
London Francis had 19 kills, and Elaina Reynolds added 16 kills for Ridgeview as they secured another district bout Thursday night. Zoe Whaley had 9 blocks on the night, while the digs were championed by Kasey Casiple (28) and Teeya Desgoutte (25). Rideview (17-10) is getting total team controbutions right, which makes them hard to beat.
District 4-2A : Oak Hall 3 St. Johns Country Day 0
It was a tough loss for the 17-5 St. Johns Country Day Lady Spartans. They fell in the district championship to Oak Hall 3-0. Sophomore, Kate Jacobs earns her 1000 dig tonight in the match
District 2-3A: Trinity 3 Episcopal 0
Trinity Christian defeated Episcopal 25-16, 26-24, and 25-22 to advance to win the District championship Thursday night. The Conquerors have another squad of incredible athletes as freshman Amaria King had 23 kills, and Ariel Ross had 26 assists. Episcopal’s Lizzy Curran had a great effort with 11 in the loss.
